40 Days of Action: enough is enough.

March 12-April 20. What action will you take to commit to ending gun violence in our schools? Some ideas are below. This space will be updated frequently.

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Raise your voice! Rally at the Statehouse!

Wednesday, March 14 at 4pm

Raise your voice and take action! Join us in the RI Statehouse rotunda to show your support for the safety of students and teachers. NEA Rhode Island supports RI Coalition Against Gun Violence 2018 legislative agenda. A component of the RICAGV agenda is the Safe Schools Act. Bring allies with you and let us know you're coming. Enough is enough.

#ArmMeWith - Join the Movement!

In response to the suggestion that teachers should be armed in the classroom, two educators started the #ArmMeWith movement on Instagram with alternatives they would like to see in the classroom - instead of more guns. Join the movement!

Open the #ArmMeWith template here, type your alternative solution in the box and print it out. Take your photo holding your sign and post it to social media. Add hashtags: #ArmMeWith #NEARIstrong #40DaysofAction. Be sure to tag NEARI on Facebook (facebook.com/NEARhodeIsland) and Twitter (@NEARhodeIsland) - We look forward to retweeting and sharing your posts!

*Printing template from a desktop or newer mobile technology is best!

"The solution to getting guns out of the public schools is not to put more guns in the public schools."- NEARI Executive Director Bob Walsh

Events

NEARI fully supports the three main national events taking place across the country.

March 14

Women's March Youth Empower National School Walkout

The group of young activists associated with the Women's March is asking students and faculty to walk out of their classrooms for 17 minutes - one minute for each life lost in Parkland.

March for Our Lives

Organized by students from Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL, this march takes place in Washington, DC. with sibling marches across the country in solidarity. Students demand their lives be a priority and want action to end gun violence and mass shootings.

March for Our Lives - Rhode Island

Can't make it to the Statehouse? There's a few ways to show your support for these student-led marches.

Messages of Support

We want to show students our overwhelming support as they prepare for the #MarchForOurLives on Saturday, March 24 and participate in the National Day of Action Against Gun Violence in Schools on April 20.

That’s why we are asking educators, parents, elected officials, activists and community members to share a message of support for these student activists who are taking action to end gun violence.

Record a video and post it with #ThankYouStudents and #40DaysofAction. It’s a quick, easy and impactful way to show you’re with them.

Post your video on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube and tag #ThankYouStudents and #40DaysofAction. And please, encourage your friends and networks to post their own video.

April 20

National School Walkout

Organized by Connecticut high school student Lane Murdock on the 19th anniversary of Columbine, the National Student Walkout is a nationwide protest of "our leaders’ failure to pass laws that protect us from gun violence."

National Day of Action Against Gun Violence in Schools

National Education Association is supporting a National Day of Action to say "No More" gun violence in our schools. NEA calls on every community in America to join together—in a way that makes sense for them—to demand that our leaders take real action to end gun violence in our schools and to protect our students.

Columbine Remembrance Day of Service

The Columbine school community honors the victims and survivors of the 1999 massacre with a Day of Service. What can you do to make your community a better place? Is it a spring cleanup? Serving lunch to neighbors experiencing homelessness? Visiting a nursing home to chat with residents? Reading to Kindergarteners? Let us know how you choose to spend the day!

SAFE SCHOOLS ACT

We support restricting concealed carry in RI K-12 schools to trained peace officers. Current law allows undisclosed CCP holders to carry weapons on school property without knowledge or consent of administration or members of the public. This allows guns to be carried on school property, buses, sporting events, teacher conferences, etc.

RI ASSAULT WEAPON BAN of 2018

A bill to ban the sale, transfer, manufacture and importation of military style weapons and high capacity magazines. Rhode Island should follow neighbors, Massachusetts and Connecticut (and 8 other states) to ban weapons of war for civilian use. This will not stop every mass shooting, but it will remove these

dangerous weapons and start to reduce the supply in our state.

BAN HIGH-CAPACITY MAGAZINES OVER TEN ROUNDS

H7645 [Regunberg, Knight, Donovan, Ranglin-Vassell, Kazarian] S2319 [Goldin, Coyne, Euer, Miller, Goodwin]
Those looking to inflict mass casualties favor weapons with high capacity magazines. Allowing magazines of up to 100 rounds increases the threat to our law enforcement. In the Sutherland Springs shooting, 26 were killed using an assault rifle, the dead ranged from 17 months to 77 years. When so many rounds are fired so quickly no one is spared with these weapons of war using high capacity magazines. Currently, Rhode Island limits magazine capacity for hunting to 5 rounds for deer and 3 rounds for duck hunting.